Marine fender



C. T. LYONS MARINE FENDER Nov- 20, l1934.

Filed Dec. 23, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 S11/venta N(w.20,1934.Y C -LLYONS j41,981,182

MARINE FENDER 'Filed Deo. 25. 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmc/nto@ (half/e5TLyons MMX Nov. 2o, 1934. T, ONS 1,981,182

MARIN-E FENDER Filed Dec. 25, '1931 4 sheets-Shes@ 5 lr- L Q E] 2l 50 ri 5 y I M m11111111111111\\\\\\'\\"l mi 'N l f ----H- 111.1111:'gig:,

@lar/e5 Lyon1* NOV. 20, 1934. Q T, LYONS I 1,981,182

MARINE FENDER Filed Dec. 23, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 v Patented Nov. 20,1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcr-:f

MARINE FENDER Charles T. Lyons, Medina, Wash., assignor to Durable MatCompany, Seattle, Wash., a cor poration of Washington ApplicationDecember 23, 1931, Serial No. 582,782

25 Claims.

My invention relates to marine fenders of the type generally shown in myPatent No. 1,781,403.

Fenders of the type shown in the patent Were found satisfactory for somepurposes, but because of the circular disks then generally believed t0be desirable, the fenders in some instances had a tendency to roll whenthis was not desired, and in any event the disks bore only at a tangent,rather than along an edge of considerable length. Furthermore, suchfenders Were light and not entirely suitable to heavy duty, being ofinsuihcient strength or of insuiicient resilience. Accordingly, it is anobject of the` present invention to devise a fender which is morerugged, better suited to heavy duty work, of a high degree ofresilience, where that is desired, and one wherein the contact of thefender with either vessel is along an edge of considerable length, thustaking advantage of the full resistance of the material, with theminimum of distortion and strain.

It is also an object to devise a fender which can be built up in avariety of forms, and the principles oi which can be incorporated in bowfenders, in stern fenders, in side fenders, in corner tenders for bargesand for piers, for the faces of piers, and in general which is adaptedto any and all of the uses to which 'fenders are now ordinarily put.

It is, of course, a further object to devise a fender constructed ofmaterial which possesses a high degree of resilience, resistance towear, resistance to slipping, even when wet, and

^ which is available in considerable quantitiesnamely, discarded tirematerial-to the end that the completed fender may be durable, resilient,capable of protecting both the tug boat and the vessel being maneuveredthereby from injury, and to have the quality of permitting considerableeffort to be exerted by the tug boat in a quartering direction, thusavoiding the necessity cf attaching stern and `breast lines in certaininstances, and enabling a single tug to do Work that under othercircumstances might require several. v

It is a further object to devise a fender made of the type ci materialindicated which has incorporated within it a metallic skeleton of corerods, links, and clamping plates, all for the purpose of holding thefender in shape to t the vessel, preventing buckling of the strips andmaking them mutually sustaining, and removing the strain ci' supportingparts of the fender from the rubber tire material itself.

Another object is the provision of a fender, and the associationtherewith of a built-in stem plate which will protect the stem, of thevessel, receive the thrust of the vessel through the stem and transmitit to the fender as a whole, equalizing the stresses on the severalparts of the fender, and which in certain forms is so constructed thatit will yield under excess stresses Without danger of injury to the stemplate.

A further object is to provide a fender which can have a built-uppudding section, and in some instances a recurved pudding, which willprotectthe top of the stem post and protect the counter of a vesselbeneath which the stem of the tug boat may run.

Other objects, and more especially those which refer to details ofconstruction, will be best understood from a study of this specication,the drawings annexed thereto, and the claimsat the end of thespecification.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the principles of my inventionembodied in a variety of forms, suitable for different uses'and places.

Figure 1 is a perspective View, with parts' broken away, of anillustrative form of my invention incorporated in a bow fender.

Figure 2 is a perspective View, similar to Figure l, ofj a modied formof bow fender.

Figure 3 is a further modied form of bow fender intended for heavy dutywork.

Figure 4. is a plan view of a fender similar to Figure 3, showing adifferent type of stem plate incorporated .,therein.

Figure 5 is a perspective view. of a further modified form of bowfender.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a heavy duty type of bow fender. Y

Figure 7 is a perspective view, with parts omitted, of a simple form ofstern fender.

Figure 8 is a view similar to. Figure '7 of a modined form of sternfender, intended for heavy duty work.

Figures 9 and 10 are further modified forms of stern fenders inperspective.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a barge or pier corner fender.

In general, the same type of material is used as proposed in my patentreferred to above, but for reasons explained above it is preferable thatstrip-like disks be employed. These strips may be cut from the entirewidth of a tire, so that in some instances Widths up to twelve inchescan be obtained, and they can be obtained in itiV posed of vertical rods3 extending through the lengths `corresponding to the extremecircumference of a tire, say twelve feet or more. These strips ofdiscarded tire material, thus cut outy and laid dat, have considerableinherent resilience in the rubber, and the embedded fabric holds therubber together and limits flexibility, extension, and to .some extent,the resilience of the rubber, but when a number-of such disks are heldin face-toeface relationship, they mutually support each other and causecompression to be absorbed within the plane of the individual diskswithout permitting them to buckle.

The present invention diiers further from that shown in my patent in theprovision of a definite skeleton of metal formed in the shape of theportion vof the vessel to be tted, upon which skeleton are supported`the strips vof tire material in such a way that the skeleton is mainly,if not entirely, embedded in the strips, yet the skeleton maintains thecompleted fender rigidin shape without affecting its resilience.

Figure `1 is an illustrative form of bow fender for medium duty. It isformed with three distinct sections-the pudding 1 and the side wings 2and 20. The skeleton in this instance is comstrips 11 of the pudding and21 of the wings, all of which are placed substantially horizontal andimmediately adjacent each other in face-to-face relationship, and thecore rods 3 are joined at intervals by the links 33. Thus the core'rods3-are held denitely spaced from each other, though the links 33 may takethe form of open link'm'ernbers 30, as seen in Figure 2, and in allinstances where it is desirable to permit the core rods to approach eachother, thus to give full eiect to theV resilience of the rubbermaterial, the links are* slightly slotted longitudinally, as shown at37, or the open links are used. These links 33 or 30 are made of lesswidth than the strips 1l or 21, and lie between two adjoining strips, sothat they are Aembedded within the completed fender and do not detractfrom its resilience. Y

'I'he strips may be held together in suitable `fashion`for instance, bythe yclamping plates 31 and 32 at top and bottom of the pudding andwings, respectively, through which the core rods Spass, and they aresecured in place suitably, as by the nuts 34. The ends of the plates 32preferably extend into the pudding to a point where the core rodsy 3 ofthe pudding will pass through them, thus binding together rigidly thepudding and side wings.

To support the fender, and to make'it fast, bolts 4 may be` employed,these having eyes 43 at their inner ends, through which pass the corekrods 3,'and they may also be providedwith eyes 40 at their outer ends,to which suitable securing lines may be attached. As additional means ofsupport, the clamping plates 32 Amay be'bowed, as indicated at 35, andlines may be looped through these bowed points.

The fender retains its shape, 'without' undue strains on thetirefstrips, because of the embedded skeleton andthejoining of the corerods of the wings and. pudding by links and by the extension of theclamping plates 32, and also because of the shapingk of the forward endsof the side Wing strips to nt the abutting edges of thepudding strips1l, yet the entire structure is'resilient as a whole, and protects thevessels between which it is interposed. vThe strips 11 in the pudding,extending horizontally across the .,entire width of the stem of the tugboat,

Lesrlse struction of Figure 2, wherein the upper part of the ypudding isextended considerably above the level of the wings 2 and 20, and iscurved aft, so as to present this upper part of the pudding beneath thecounter of a vessel being maneuvered--that to say, between the counterof the vessel and the stem post oi the tug boat.

The form shown in Figure 2 is for comparatively light duty work, for thestrips 21 are not closely adjacent to each other; rather washer blocks23 are interposed at intervals between adjacent strips 21. However, thestrips 21 are suliiciently held in the parallel planes as to mutuallyprevent buckling, though because of the limited possibility of buckling,this type of fender has greater yieldability than the type rstdescribed. Furthermore, the lower part of the pudding is composed of thestrips 11, but the forward ends of the strips 21 do not stop at theafter side of the pudding, but extend into the pudding, where thepudding core rods 3 extend through these strips 21. Thus the strips 11and 21 are interleaved.

The bow fender ofFigure 3 is for heavy duty work. Here the strips 11 aredisposed as before in parallel planes, but two such groups areernployed, one in advance of the other and the strips in the two groupsbeing in edge-to-edge Contact with each other. To support the outergroup links 36 may be employed. Preferably these extend diagonallybetween the vertical core rods 3, for this, with the slots 37, affordsmaximum yieldability of the pudding.

The side wings 2 and 20 of such a fender may have the strips 21extending vertically instead of horizontally, as before, and insuch acase the core rods 3 of the side wings would extend horizontally andmight be provided with eyes 37 at theiry forward ends, through whicheyes the core rods 3 of the pudding pass. vThese core rods 3 of theWings are connected by the links 33, as before, these links nowextending vertically. The eye bolts 4` in this form extend from the topof the wings, and the bows 35 may be applied at the ends of the wings.

To transmit the very heavy thrust of the stern to the vessel to bemaneuvered, it is desirable in k o such fenders to provide a stem plate5. As shown in'Figure 3, this is formed of two substantially Z-shapedplates disposed vertically immediately aft of the pudding, two flangesbeing overlapped and suitably secured-for instance, by rivets or bywelding-and the other flanges extending outwardlyand being apertured topermit the passage through them of the core rods 3 of the side wings.Thus the stem plate 5 directly supports'v the side wings, and directlytransmits thrust from the stern to the pudding l. The flanges 50 are sodisposed that if the side wings yield, or if extraordinary compressionoccurs in-the pudding and is l'transmitted 'to the side wings, theseflanges will yield somewhat and will not break.

Figurel 4 illustrates a similar type of fender,

the stem plate 51 in this instance extending entirely-across the rear ofthe pudding 1, and having a channel-shaped member `52 disposed inside ofthe forward portion of the wings 2 and 20. The stem plate supports thepudding and vside wings by the passage of the core rods 3 of the Wings'through the lateral extensions 53 of the plate.

in this ferm of fender the links 36 Within the pudding extend directlyfore and ait instead of diagonally, and are shown in the form of openlinks, thus permitting yielding of the outer section of the puddingrelative to the inner.

In .Figure 5 a fender similar to that oi Figure 1 is shown, except thatthe side wings .are formed in upper and lower portions, spaced from eachother at la point where the guard or" the tug boat will come. Extraclamping plates 32' are employed in addition to the ordinary clampingplates .32, these plates 32 lying within the gap between upper and lowerportions of the side Wings.

Figure '6 illustrates a heavy duty type of bow fender, in which thepudding and side wings are substantially continuous. A single core rod 3extends from .the after end of one Wing, through the pudding, and to theyafter end of the opposite wing. A plurality of sections are employed,the strips being vertical in leach section, and the several sectionsbeing. placed one within the other, so that the strips meet inedge-to-edge relationship in the respective sections. It is preferableto employ a stem plate 5 in this structure, and in all essentials itcorresponds to that described `in Figure 3.

Figure 7 shows a simple type of stern fender, the strips v6 beingdisposed in ver-tical planes, and the ycore rods 63 being horizontal andcurved to iit the stern of .the vessel. Ordinarily at least .two suchcore rods would be employed, and these yare joined, as in the otherforms, by links 62. Supporting eye bolts 6l extend from the core rods 63to a point above the fender for securement, :and yadditional eyes may beformed upon the clamping plates '65 or upon the ends of the core rods,as indicated at 64.

In Figure 8 the stern fender is :shown formed 4of two sections, an outerand an inner section, in each of which the strips 6 are verticallydisposed, the construction otherwise being substantially identical withthat of Figure 7. Preferably the link members 62 are diagonally disposedto 4cross each other, thus affording greater resilience than if theywere connected horizontally.

ln Figure 9 additional disks or short strips 66 are employed, placedinside the upper end of the strips '6 and connected by a clamping plate67 and by internal links (not shown) to the core rod 63 of the strips 6.The strips or blocks 66 overlie thevessels guard, and the strips 6 lieoutside yoi the guard.

A modification of this idea is shown in Figure 10, where the strips 66extend .above the upper end or the strips 6 and are inclined somewhat toiit against the bulwarks oi the tug boat, and to rest at their lowerends upon the guard. This protects the bulwarks against damage shouldthe stern of the tug get under the counter or other overhanging` part ofa vessel being maneuvered.

Figure 1l illustrates a corner render adapted for application to bargesand to piers. Except that it is formed with a substantially rightangular bend, it is or may be constructed in all respects similar' tothe stern fenders described.

What I :claim as my invention is:

1. vA ships fender comprising a metallic skeleton of rods, and linksjoining the same, and generally shaped to t the vessel ior which it isintended, and a plurality or" strips of resilient material disposed inparallel planes at right angles to the `rods of the skeleton, `andgenerally parallel to and enclosing the links, and means to hold the.strips in suoli disposition upon the skeleton, to mutually: resistbuckling, and to` present them edgewise to the vessels outer surfaces.

2. In a ships fender, in combination, a skeleton including a pluralityof horizontal members, disposed at diierent levels, and a plurality oivertical members, the whole being joined substantially in the shape ofthe vessel, and strips of resilient, flexible material through whichparts of said skeleton pass, the strips being disposed in parallelplanes, and the :skeleton and strips mutually sustaining each the otherto form a rigid, yieldable, shaped fender, in which the several stripsare presented edgewise to compression, and are held against buckling.

3. In a ships bow fender, a plurality of strips of resilient materialdisposed in horizontal planes, core rods passed vertically therethrough,and means to secure said strips in mutually sustaining relationship uponsaid rods, the Whole constituting a pudding, and other core rods joined.to the pudding core rods, at each .side of the pudding, and themselvesjoined by links, strips oi'` resilient material through which the lattercore rods are passed, and means to secure said latter strips upon theirrods in mutually sustaining relationship and constituting side wings.

1i. in a ships bow fender, a plurality of strips of resilient v materialdisposed in horizontal planes, core rods passed vertically therethrough,and means to secure said strips in mutually sustaining relationship uponsaid rods, the whole constituting a pudding, and other core rods havingeyes at one end, through which the pudding core rods pass, thelatter-mentioned core rods extending .substantially horizontally, linksjoining the latter core rods, and strips oi resilient material disposedin vertical planes on said latter core rods, and held thereon inmutually sustaining relationship, to constitute side Wings.

5. In a ships bow fender, a plurality of strips of resilient material'disposed in horizontal planes, core rods passed verticallytherethrough, and means to secure said strips in mutually sustainingrelationship upon said rods, the whole constituting a pudding, and othercore rods having eyes at one end, through which the pudding core rodspass, the latter-mentioned core rods extending substantiallyhorizontally, links joining the latter core rods, strips of resilientmaterial disposed in vertical planes on said latter core rods, and heldthereon in mutually sustaining relationship, to constitute side wings,and a stem plate having laterally projecting apertured portions throughwhich the wing core rods pass, to support it immediately rearward of thepudding.

6. In a ships bow fender, in combination, a stem plate, supportingmembers extending laterally from the plate, a pudding comprising aplurality of strips disposed immediately in advance of the stem plate,in parallel planes, and means to retain them in such relationship,.tomutually sustain eachother against buckling,- and side Wings likewiseVcomprising a plurality soy of strips disposed kin parallel planes andmeans to retain them in such relationship, to mutually sustain eachother against buckling, and to connect them to the pudding, and saidlatter means being supportingly engaged by the stem plate, to retain thelatter in position to engage the vessels stem.

7.`In a ships bow fender, in combination, a group of strips of resilientmaterial disposed in face-to-ace relationship in transverse horizontalplanes, core rods extending vertically through the strips, a secondgroup of strips similarlypositioned forwardly of the first group, inedge-to-edge relationship to the strips of the iirst group, other corerods extending vertically through the second group, link membersextending between the core rods of the two groups, to support the secondgroup from the first, and to constitute a pudding, and other stripsdisposed aft of the puddingand other core rods supporting said latterstrips and connected to pudding.

core rods, to constitute side wings.

8. In a ships bow fender, in combination, a group of strips 01"'resilient material disposed in face-to-face relationship in transversehorizontal planes, core rods extending vertically through the strips, asecond group of strips similarly positioned forwardly of the firstgroup, in edgeto-edge relationship to the strips of the first group,other core rods extending kvertically through the second group, linkmembers extending diagonally between the core rods of the two groups, tosupport the second group from the rst, and to constitute a pudding, andother strips of resilient material disposed aft of the pudding, inparallel planes, and other core rods supporting said latter strips tomaintain them in mutually supporting relationship, and'themselvesconnected to the pudding core rods, to constitute side wings.

9. In a ships bow fender, in combination, pudding and side wing sectionseach composed of core rods and strips of tire material threaded uponsaid rods to lie in parallel planes and to be mutually sustainingagainst buckling, the pudding section extending above the level of theadjoining wing sections, to protect the stem post.

l. In a ships bow fender, inV combination, pudding and side wingsections each composed or" core rods and strips of tire materialthreaded upon said rods to lie in parallel planes and to be mutuallysustaining against buckling, the

strips in the pudding section being disposedv i; transversely Aand therods generally vertically,

of tire material disposed in parallel planes, saidv strips being spacedthrough a portion of the 1 length of each, core rods extending throughthe v tending between the core rods, parallel to and covered in by thestrips, to form with the core .i rods .a supporting skeleton. i

13. In a ships bow fender, in combination, a. plurality of strips ofrubber tire material, disposed in parallel horizontal planes to formpudding and two side wing sections, the forward ends of the wing stripsbeing disposed between the strips of the pudding section, and core rodspassing throughv the interleaved Wingv and pudding strips, and throughthe side wing strips to maintain them in the specified relationship.

14. In a ships bow fender, in combination, a pudding section, and sidewing sections connected at their forward ends to the pudding sections,and extending aft therefrom, said side. wings comprising a plurality ofstrips of resilient material disposed in parallel planes and core rodsholding them in such relationship, with an edge outermost, the side wingsections being divided longitudinally into upper and lower portionsspaced to straddle the vessels guard.

15. In a ships stern fender, a plurality of strips of rubber tirematerial disposed in face-toface relationship, extending vertically,other strips of the same material disposed in face-toface relationshipinwardly of the upper end of the first strips, to rest upon theguard andagainst the bulwarks, core rods passing through the several strips tomaintain them in the specilied relationship, and link members connectingthe several core rods to hold the fender in the shape of the vesselsstern.

16. In a ships stern fender, a plurality of strips of rubber tirematerial disposed in face-toface relationship, extending vertically,other strips of the same material disposed in face-toface relationshipinwardly ofthe upper end of the rst strips, to rest upon the guard andagainst the bulwarks, core rods passing through.

the several strips to maintain them in the specifled relationship, linkmembers connecting the several core rods tohold the fender in the shapeof the vessels stern, and bolts having eyes at each end, one ofsaid`core rods passing through the eye at the lower end of each bolt,and the bolts projecting upwardly beyond the top of the fender, toenable it to be made fast.

17. In a ships fender, in combination, a metallic skeleton including twosets of members crossing each other, one set being continuous throughouta considerable portion of the fender, and the other being linkedthereto, and permitting some movement of the continuous members towardsand from each other, and strips of resilient material threaded on two ormore of the continuous members and embedding the link members, theskeleton and strips mutually sustaining each the other to form a rigid,yieldable, shaped fender, in which the several strips are presentededgewise to compression, and mutually sustain each other againstbuckling.

18. A ships fender comprising core rods'and elongated strips of tirematerial threaded upon said rods to lie in parallel planes and'to bemutually sustaining against buckling, and links embedded between stripsat intervals to form with the core rods a supporting skeleton.

19. Av fender. as in claim 18, the links being of metal and extendingonly between adjacent core rods. v

20. A ships bow fender including pudding and side wing sections eachcomprising core rods and elongatedv strips of tire material threadedupon said rods to lie in parallel planes and tobe mutually sustainingagainst buckling, and disposed for edgewise contact with the vessel.y

21. A ships bow fender' including separate l CTI pudding and side wingsections each comprising core rods and elongated strips of tire materialthreaded upon said rods to lie in parallel planes and to be mutuallysustaining against buckling, and disposed for edgewise contact with thevessel, and metal links connecting core rods of the side wings with corerods of the pudding.

22. A fender asin claim 21, wherein the links are disposed Within theinside and outside surfaces oi the fender.

23. A fender as in claim 21, including embedded metal links connectingthe several adjacent core rods within each individual section.

24. A fender of the character described comprising a lining section, awearing section, said sections being composed of flat pieces of durablematerial having holes formed therein and having means passing throughsaid holes for binding them together, and a cushion section interposedbetween said lining section and wearing section.

25. A fender of the character described comprising a lining section, awearing section, each of said sections being composed of a plurality ofrelatively flat members joined by tie rods eX- tending throughperforations therein, and a cushion section interposed between thelining and wearing sections.

CHARLES T. LYONS.

CERTIFICATE OE CORRECTION.

Patent No. l,981,182. November 20, 1934.

CHARLES T. LYONS.

It is hereby certified that error Iappears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5.,strike out the subject matter comprising claims 24 and 25 inclusive; andthat the said Letters Patent should be rend with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the elle in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 18th day o December, A. D. 1934.

Leslie Frazer (Seal.) i Acting Commissioner of Patents.

